JUNE 2022 - AudioFile
Melodious voiced Nicolette McKenzie acts out this complex, clue-laden mystery with an antiquities twist. Judith Potts, now 77, happily crafts crossword puzzles for THE TIMES. During a moonlit swim in the Thames, Judith hears her neighbor’s murder, but her attempt to report it is promptly discounted by the local constabulary. After a second, murder using the same WWII Luger, and then a third, DS Tamika Malik steps in to investigate. McKenzie is spot-on with her voicing of Judith as imperious and magisterial but never querulous. Becks, the vicar’s wife, is portrayed as meek and nervous, and Suzie, the dedicated dog walker, as gravelly voiced. DS Malik remains audibly unflappable even when Judith and friends uncover multiple suspects with tenuous connections in the first adventure of this new series. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Library Journal - Audio
09/01/2022
The latest mystery from Thorogood, creator and screenwriter of the popular BBC mystery series Death in Paradise and author of novels based on the show, features a heartwarming trio of resourceful women as amateur detectives. A cryptic crossword writer by trade, 77-year-old Judith Potts lives alone in a grand, albeit incredibly cluttered, mansion on the banks of the River Thames in Marlow, a town northwest of London. When Judith's neighbor is shot, she refuses to accept the police explanation of suicide, especially as more murders soon follow. After meeting dog walker Suzie Harris and vicar's wife Becks Starling during the course of her investigation, Judith convinces them to join her search for the killer. Expertly varying her pitch and accents when portraying the three very different women, narrator Nicolette McKenzie vividly evokes these marvelously drawn women "of a certain age," who are frequently underappreciated and made to feel invisible by their families and society. McKenzie's relaxed pacing allows listeners to appreciate the many humorous scenes as well as the rich character development and growing friendship among the three women. VERDICT Cozy mystery fans will be lining up for the next series installment.—Beth Farrell
JUNE 2022 - AudioFile
Melodious voiced Nicolette McKenzie acts out this complex, clue-laden mystery with an antiquities twist. Judith Potts, now 77, happily crafts crossword puzzles for THE TIMES. During a moonlit swim in the Thames, Judith hears her neighbor’s murder, but her attempt to report it is promptly discounted by the local constabulary. After a second, murder using the same WWII Luger, and then a third, DS Tamika Malik steps in to investigate. McKenzie is spot-on with her voicing of Judith as imperious and magisterial but never querulous. Becks, the vicar’s wife, is portrayed as meek and nervous, and Suzie, the dedicated dog walker, as gravelly voiced. DS Malik remains audibly unflappable even when Judith and friends uncover multiple suspects with tenuous connections in the first adventure of this new series. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
